cleft oak bench

a beautiful cleft oak bench made from bone oak sourced locally to the client from Ashridge National Trust Estate.

this bench was commissioned as a memorial bench for June’s son Michael. He frequently went exploring in the woods at Ashridge and the timber used for this cleft oak bench are from mighty oak trees in the area.

the rails are cleft from a fallen bough, and not being green oak, was extremely difficult to cleave! The shape of the resultant rails give a natural curve and organic shape to the bench. To make it more comfortable I shaped ‘bottom curves’ into the seat slats. The arm rests are wider than normal to use a mini tables for small plates, a cup or glass, depending on the time of day June decides to sit there.

if you would like a cleft oak bench please contact me to discuss your ideas.